The present invention is in the field of wireless communication, in particular cellular communication where a wireless or wired device or Dev (e.g., appliance) can communicate wirelessly in the wireless network, particularly cellular network, wireless internet network and short range communication (SRC) network. The PCMD (Program Control & Monitor Device) or Dev (e.g., appliance: —the inventor uses the term “Dev” for the description of this invention in the rest of this text, while the term “appliance” will be used in the claims that follow at the end of this text) communicates with a handset (e.g., cellular handset) or plurality of cellular handset, and the Dev can also be directed by any one of the handsets (e.g., mobile devices), which also can be a smart phone, tablet, tablet PC, laptop PC, iPad-like device, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), any portable electronic device or mobile device, so that the Dev can be used to monitor and control its environment, associated equipment, or plurality of associated equipment, and alert when any unauthorized or unsafe events take place, so its owner(s) can take appropriate measure to deal with the situation.
The Dev can also allow the user to add (register) another handset, so the owner of said handset can have the same access to the vehicle/home control and monitor system, as the original user. The Dev also lets the user remove (deregister) a missing, stolen or no longer used handset.
The Dev can also allow the user hundreds or thousands of miles (kilometers) away from home, to program the handset of a friend or a relative to have access to the home security and monitor system, so said friend or relative can stay at his/her home for a programmable period of time.
The Dev can also allow the user to program the handset of the household help personnel (i.e., cleaning person) to have access only to a certain limited function of the home security and monitor system, such as: entry and exit on certain day(s) of the week and certain time. And such the entry and exit record can be created, stored and viewed by the user.
The Dev can also alert the user when someone attempts to register his/her handset into its control and monitor system so the user can be aware of such attempt and has the option to allow or not allow it to take place.
The Dev can also let the user locate the GPS location of another missing registered handset via his/her handset.
The Dev can also allow the user to have the liberty of choosing another cellular service provider by providing a fairly simple mechanism to which it can be easily activated and registered into the new network.
The Dev can also allow the user remotely to enter and retrieve data to and from the GPS, and inquire the vehicle current location through said GPS.
The Dev can also allow the driver to pay the toll collector (i.e., bridges, highways) electronically and the transaction account is stored in memory for later review.
The Dev can also allow the user to record and view remotely the driving habit of other drivers, such as: driving speed, and optionally alerts the user when such maximum speed limit happens: where, when and the duration. It also allows car rental, taxi, truck companies, and the like, to have the driving record of each vehicle transmitted and stored into the company's storage servers for later review.
The Dev can also alert the car owner when an authorized moving or entry in of his/her vehicle. It lets the owner know the location and time of where and when the event took place.
The Dev can also alert the driver who might be leaving a child or pet inside his/her parked vehicle, which is extremely dangerous, when the temperature is either very warm or very cold outside.
The Dev can also allow the user to program, control, and monitor his/her vehicle and its accessories remotely through his/her handset.
The Dev can also alert the emergency center in case of an accident such as: a sudden impact happens to the vehicle and/or its airbag is inflated. It also lets the driver communicate via the hands-free speaker and microphone with the emergency operator. The driver can also talk to a family member of his/hers (another registered handset), with the aid of the vehicle “dial and talk” button, in case his/her phone does not work or is not in his/her possession.
The Dev can also allow the user to use its control and monitor system to program, control and monitor his/her home security system, such as: turning on or off the alarm, monitoring and viewing the house entries and exits, viewing its motion sensing devices, and observing its interior and exterior surroundings remotely, through his/her handset.
The Dev can also alert the home owner when an authorized or illegal entry takes place in his/her own house or business premises. It lets the owner know the exact location within the house or business premises, and time when it happened.
The Dev can also alert the home owner when the monitor camera detects changes in its inputs, then transmits the video images to the owner for his/her viewing and decision.
The Dev can also communicate wired/wirelessly with one or plurality of wireless handsets/terminals, computers, servers, and the like so account information can be exchanged between the Dev and one or plurality of device, such as: handsets/terminals, servers/computers (wire/wireless) to facilitate the financial (or non-finance) transaction or any other needed financial (or non-finance) exchanges.
The Dev can also communicate wired/wirelessly with one or plurality of household appliance/equipment at home or on business premises, with the assistance of the software application downloaded from a plurality of server on the internet, or transferred from said appliances/equipments to the Dev, then from Dev passed to the handset; therefore allow the user(s) through the handset to control, program, monitor, view, record, play back, said appliances/equipments via the Dev.
The Dev can also be programmed, controlled, and then communicates wired/wirelessly with institutions, such as: a utility company to pass monthly user's utility usage information (i.e., electric/water/[heating & cooking gas] meter reading) so said company's computers can process and calculate the charges. The utility company then completes the payment automatically, or transmits said information to user's handset, so he/she using said handset is able to complete the transaction by paying online.
The Dev can also let the user speak to a visitor who rings the door bell by alerting him/her via his/her handset (wherever he/she might be), thus allowing their communication through the intercom (front door speaker and microphone). The uninvited visitor is not aware that the owner might not be at home, at the present moment.
The Dev can also let the home owner monitor the well-being of his/her pets (dogs), by communicating with the Integrated Smart Pet Door (its door, speakers and cameras), to let them out to the backyard multiple times a day and for specified times, such as: opening its door and playing the owner voice on its speakers, and enticing/commanding them back into the house by replaying the same speaker, then closing and locking the pet door.
The Dev can also be embedded into robotic device, which can be programmed and controlled remotely by the handset via the cellular network. Cellular communication is more ubiquitous, practical, in real-time and anywhere than the internet. The robotic device can be used in situations, such as: long distance medical surgery, remote rescue mission, remote firefighting and rescue, package delivering flying drones and the like.
The Dev can also be embedded into black boxes, shipping containers, and the like which can be programmed and controlled by the handset or a computer via the cellular network or satellite network (or a hybrid network consisting of cellular, wireless, wire, terrestrial and satellite) to communicate its locations to said handset or said computer.
Since the Dev is a wireless device and particularly a cellular device, it needs to be registered and activated into a cellular network, so the network computers/servers can recognize it, and allow it into their network, in order for it to communicate with other mobile devices. Unlike cellular phone handsets, tablets, personal assistants, and the like, it communicates with other handsets or wireless devices, when programmed to do so by one or more of its registered handsets. It does not communicate with everybody's cellular device, nor does it respond, when others try to communicate with it. In other words, it will ignore or will not answer uninvited calls/messages (with the exception is that during its activation/registration). The Dev receives, decodes and executes commands and data from registered handset(s), and does its tasks/functions as intended/programmed, and transmits back information and/or status to handset(s)/devices. Commands and data from the handset can be in packet(s), in binary or combination of binary and ASCII text format. Commands from the handset also preferably contain encoded handset phone number, and encrypted password, so the Dev can differentiate them from unwanted sources. If the phone number and the password match with the stored ones in the Dev's memory, the Dev will execute the commands accordingly. Data can also be in video and audio text format. Information and/or status from the Dev can be in packet(s), and in binary or combination of binary, ASCII, video, streaming video and audio, or streaming audio text format. The Dev also sends messages (messages in the present invention, besides being text messages can also in the form data messaging: IM, MMS “Multimedia Message Service”, iMessages) to the handset(s), to alert the owner(s) when an event happens, or sends commands to App Server or Email Server to email owner's password to his/her email address for password recovery; as are known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
The Dev's function is to monitor and control its environment, communicate with other intended wireless devices; and in such a case where it functions as a security device, it has to be installed in a position, where it is not easily removed or disabled by any un-wanted person. It preferably is in the form of an embedded electronic module consisting of a microcontroller or CPU, IC (integrated chipset), EPLD, volatile and non-volatile memory (i.e., flash, RAM, SDRAM, EEPROM, ROM, SSD, storage media, . . . ) storages (for software code, application programs, cellular account information, OS, . . . ), antenna(s), cellular phone/wireless LAN chipset, SRC (Short Range Communication) interfaces, components (NFC, WI-FI, Bluetooth, USB, wireless radio frequency (RF) technology), and general I/Os. The module can be part of the automobile controlling circuitry when applies to a vehicle, or part of the home security system, when applies to the house, and part of the electronic circuitry when applies to a robotic device or a shipping container.
The Dev can obtain, store and run software applications from other devices/servers wirelessly. In the case of a vehicle, it also contains finance account application to facilitate the toll fee transaction, when bridge toll or road toll requires. It also contains features, which allow user to locate the GPS location of other registered handset(s). It also allows user to control devices/appliances at home or on remote premises by having automatic add and remove functions, which it uses to discover/find out other controlled devices, so it can add in their functionality, or later on to remove them as commanded by user via the handset.
It also offers a general purpose control system where the main handset can register other handsets, which then together can communicate with the Dev to coordinate in monitoring and controlling what is going on within the Dev's environment, such as: a robotic/surgery/search-rescue robot, and monitoring what's going through the cameras and sensors and display the real time image on the terminal screen. Or the general purpose control system can be embedded into black boxes, shipping containers and the likes so they will be programmed by the handset or computer and their positions can then be tracked and monitored by said handset or said computer.
These three applications—car, home, and robotic/surgery/search-rescue operations/shipping containers/black boxes are for cited examples and do not mean that the Dev is restricted for these applications only.
In its lifetime, it most likely has several ownership changing hands, and thus it has to be easily activated and registered by its new owner, when change of ownership takes place. It also prevents an unauthorized one from activating or registering, and also alerts its owner(s) when such event happens. This makes it very easy for owner to switch to another service provider while still being active with the current provider by having the owner (through the handset) activated the Dev into the new service provider's network. After the activation to the new service provider is successfully done, the Dev deactivates itself from the previous network, and also transmits commands to other registered handset(s) which will update the Dev's new phone number.
Cellular phones/devices already exist in automobiles but their functions are quite limited. The main function of the current system is to take over the call, when the driver's cellular phone rings, and thus allows him/her to answer it, and communicate hands-free with the outside caller. Some other applications allow the owner of the car to remotely lock/unlock the car or start up its engine. Part of the reason, the car manufacturers have not yet provided the complete solution, as presented herein by the present invention, is how to come up with a mechanism, so that the cellular phone system (which is already inside the vehicle cellular embedded phone module, as in the case, where it takes over the function of the driver's cellular handset) can be programmed, controlled, monitored, and thus be able to communicate with the owner's handset, and execute its functions as cited herein in the present invention. Extending the hardware (microcontroller and cellular chipset) so it can interface with other devices in the car, such as: its GPS, its engine oil/fuel level, speedometer reading, door locks, car alarm, ignition system and the like, will not do much, if a clear and straight forward mechanism by which the car owner can monitor, program, and have it activated easily with his/her chosen cellular service provider so it can communicate with his/her cellular phone, has not been implemented as presented herein by the present invention.
House monitoring security system presents less of a challenge, since it is a stationary device and can be wired and monitored by a home security company. The house monitoring system also requires a phone line (expensive and prone to being disabled because the phone line can be cut) and comes with a pretty high price tag such as monthly service fee. The monitoring can only be as good as the system and the security personnel who have the responsibility of overseeing so many stations. The system has to be installed by the home security company, and they do not provide much except calling and/or alerting the owner, when something happened or the house has been breached. The owner has no idea what happened, and neither does the alarm company until the police arrives, or the owner gets home or to the business office. Often, this can be due to a false alarm, such as: a curtain falling and causing the motion sensor to trip. There are also home installed security cameras connected online to the manufacturer's website, where an owner can create, and later logs into his/her account, and sees what the cameras see, and observes what is going on. It is a passive system, in other words, the user cannot program it in order of for him/her to be alerted when a certain condition happens.
The present invention allows owner 24 hour monitoring system. It goes straight to the user's handset (and his/her family members′), instead of to a third party not having the capacity to fully monitor all activity, due to the multiple terminals they need to monitor. It alerts when something happens and owner(s) can see, in real-time, what happens in his/her handset (where the Dev already transmitted the related information). Programming, controlling, and monitoring are all done through the handset, while the current paid system requires keypad located inside the house, plus a remote hand-held device just to turn the system on/off, when user is near the house within a close proximity. The present invention also extends beyond providing security of home alarm system. It allows its owner(s) means to control and monitor other household appliances/equipments, such as: heating/AC, cable/satellite TV, Garage opener, entry door lock, help-alert wearer, sprinkler control system, door bell and intercom, pet's daily needs, electric meter reading and transmitting the information to utility company, and plurality of others.
There exist already on the market kits offered, by companies such as: AutoAlarm Pro at autoalarmpro.com and Viper Start at viper.com to car owners, so they can either assemble themselves or by professional installers into their vehicles, so they can remotely program, monitor, and be alerted, when a certain event or condition happens to their vehicles. The above solutions are not very practical since they require the owner to pay for the extra equipment, its installation cost, and it requires modification to the vehicle structure which could void certain parts of the car manufacturer's warranty. It also would be costly, since it is not part of the complete package when the car was built, and has to be installed later.
US Patent Application US20110244846A1 and US20080057929A1 by Min: “Cell Phone with Remote Control System” mentioned a remote Automobile and Home Control System by a mobile phone, within a mobile communication network, a plurality of remote systems and a server. Min described the interconnection and integration of the plurality of systems of his invention, in terms of hardware, but never mentioned how the device in vehicle/home gets registered and activated so it can be connected to the network, and how it obtained its owner's phone number and the numbers of all other handsets, so it could alert the owner and family about the unexpected events.
It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for improved systems and methods for programming, controlling, and monitoring wireless networks.